[Opening event]

June of Cambridge is the most enjoyable time of the year with the beautiful sunshine and wavering willows along the River Cam. During 6-25 June, 2011, a traditional Chinese painting exhibition has been held in Michaelhouse of Cambridge. The exhibition themed ‘Call of the Wild’ has displayed the artworks of Prof. JI Guoqiang from Xi’an Fine Arts Academy…for more

【Introduction】

The mighty wind of the Gobi desert carried the flavour of butter and barbeque, reminding me of Mama’s singing praises of the heavens…

Five thousand years of history has seen the manifold art and wisdom of the Chinese people. This exhibition presents traditional Chinese paintings by Prof. JI Guoqiang from Xi’an Fine Arts Academy. To record the traditions and cultures of disappearing ethnic minorities, the artist spent his spare time from teaching travelling to the plains and mountains of several provinces, including Tibet, Gansu, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Yunnan. With this first-hand experience, Mr. JI produced a series of exquisite paintings expressing a unique perspective. These works of art realized the unity of man and nature and convey the reality of life in villages of western China.

About traditional Chinese painting:

Chinese traditional painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Over the centuries, the growth of Chinese painting inevitably reflected the change of time and social conditions, from Primitive to Modern. Traditional Chinese painting has its special materials and tools, consisting of brushes, ink and pigments, Xuan paper, silk and various kinds of ink slabs. Chinese paintings usually integrate poetry or calligraphy with themes that include figures, landscapes, flowers, birds and other animals.

About the artist:

JI Guoqiang was born in Shannxi Province, China, on October 15th 1956. Directed by Mr. LIU Wenxi, Mr. Ji graduated from Xi’an Fine Arts Academy in 1979, and then did research work in Central Fine Arts Academy of China in 1982. He is now the professor of Xi’an Fine Arts Academy and holds key positions such as a member of China Artists Association, advisor of China Painters’ Association, and executive general of Shaanxi Province Minorities Painting and Calligraphy Association. He has held personal and joint painting exhibitions in the US, Japan, Canada and many cities in China. His work has been awarded the Silver Medal in the 1994 China Fine Arts Expo, the Maple’s Award in Canada and has been published in the First China Portraits Collection, Nationality Pictorial, China Advanced Fines Arts Academy Collection and many other journals and painting albums. Mr. Ji is also the author of several textbooks, such as the Copy Collection of Traditional Chinese Realistic Figure Paintingand Copy of HanXizai’sNight Feastpublished by the China Culture and Arts Association Publisher. Mr. Ji has also published many articles and research papers. His over 30 year career has been recorded in “Jiapingao Essay Collection”, “Biography Anthology of World Famous Chinese Artists” and has won many awards.